Colin Wilkins was less than a mile away from finishing his first Boston Marathon last year before he was stopped by barricades and learned that two bombs exploded near the finish line.

This year, Wilkins is running again, and when he makes it to the end, he expects a rush of emotions to overtake him.

“Crossing the finish line is going to run the gamut,” he said. “I’m going to be elated. I’m probably going to cry. I imagine I will be angry that I wasn’t able to do this twice, and I will be exhausted.”

Wilkins is one of 42 runners that are part of Team Brookline this year. Team Brookline is a fundraising crew, which includes 10 runners who participated last year and is aiming to raise over $200,000 for four Brookline nonprofits: the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, which manages the team; Brookline Education Foundation; Brookline Library Foundation; and Brookline Teen Center.

From a training perspective, Wilkins is ready to go. But from an emotional standpoint, he won’t know how he’ll hold up until the day of the race. Until then, all he can do is have plans in place for where his family will be during the race.

Many runners will have to deal with memories of the traumatic experiences of last year’s marathon. That’s why the Brookline Community Mental Health Center has provided mental health training for the runners, and is available for residents as well.

Dr. Larry Abrams, a psychologist and psychoanalyst at the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, met with Team Brookline recently to discuss this issue as a group.

Wilkins, who is running for Brookline Library Foundation, said he expects Marathon Monday to be emotional, particularly when he sees his family, and when he crosses through Charlesgate West, where he was stopped last time.

“I’ve been thinking about this every day since December 2012,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about finishing a marathon for a long time.”

Wilkins, who is a reference librarian at the Main Library, said he remembers seeing his family during the race last year. They were standing at Temple Ohabei Shalom. After he passed them, they were going to take the train into the city to be with him after he crossed the finish line.

They never got into the city, however. The train was stopped on the way.

In the middle of the mass confusion, Wilkins could not get in touch with his wife or parents. He ended up walking back to Coolidge Corner and going into Michael’s Deli, where he was offered food and drink, and finally got in touch with his family.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, March 25, Abrams, who has run the Boston Marathon himself, said some anxiety for runners and residents during the marathon is normal

First, he said, “Runners should recognize that any reaction to past events is normal, and try not to pathologize any reaction.”

Visual memories and bodily sensations are normal for trauma, he said.

He suggested noticing the reaction, attaching it to the past, and focusing on the present.

“For folks whose lives have been more traumatic generally, it can lead to flashbacks to previous traumas,” he said.

Some may stay away from the marathon and coverage of the event entirely.

“That’s not an uncommon response,” said Abrams. “Some may say, ‘I just don’t need the anxiety that this is going to bring up.’”

He said some runners have experienced “survivor guilt,” and are unsure if they can even feel happy about finishing the race and celebrating at the end.

“Don’t be surprised if you get hit by quite a bit of emotion,” he said, referring to runners when they cross the finish line this year.

Nancy Vineberg, vice president of development for the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, said she clearly remembers standing along the marathon route during the race last year and seeing her manager turn to her and tell her there were two explosions at the finish line.

“I still get chills thinking about [it], and knowing immediately what had happened and the disbelief of terrorism happening,” she said.

It took several hours to track down all of the runners and make sure they were unharmed. Vineberg knew some runners were expected to be close to the finish line when the bombs detonated, which added to the stress of the day.

“We have been aware since last year after the bombings that the entire community had experienced some level of trauma,” she said. “Taking care of the emotional wellbeing of the community is our mission.”

She said Whole Foods on Beacon Street has partnered with Team Brookline and will allow customers to donate to the team at the cash register during April.

Also, Team Brookline will be running from Heartbreak Hill to the finish line on the morning of April 12, and residents are encouraged to join along.

For more information on Team Brookline, or to support the team, visit brooklinecenter.org/marathon.

Wilkins said he was uncertain about running this year, but members of Team Brookline got together and encouraged each other to run.

Since then, he said his family has been supportive of his decision.

He said the Main Library will be hosting a program called “Our Marathon” this Saturday and Sunday, from 1-4 p.m. It’s an oral history project and digital archive. People are encouraged to come and share their stories about the marathon, as well as images.